The Holy Spirit's Reign

On the day of Pentecost The Holy Spirit took Charge over the Church as The Lord Jesus' 100% substitute

The Lord Jesus, before His crucifixion and also before His ascension promised the disciples that He was sending them a 100% substitute for those who are His followers. (Note: The unsaved, not born-again person requires the saving power of Jesus' crucifixion before The Holy Spirit is willing to take charge over their lives.)

John 15:26 reads,

^"26 ⁱ“But when the ³Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, ^jHe will testify of Me. ^27 And ^kyou also will bear witness, because ^lyou have been with Me from the beginning."

John 16:5-15 reads,

^5 “But now I ^ego away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ^6 But because I have said these things to you, ^fsorrow has filled your heart. ^7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but ^gif I depart, I will send Him to you. ^8 And when He has ^hcome, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ^9 ⁱof sin, because they do not believe in Me; ^10 ^jof righteousness, ^kbecause I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ^11 ^lof judgment, because ^mthe ruler of this world is judged.

^12 “I still have many things to say to you, ⁿbut you cannot bear them now. ^13 However, when He, ^othe Spirit of truth, has come, ^pHe will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ^14 ^qHe will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ^15 ^rAll things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He ³will take of Mine and declare it to you.

2000 years of misunderstanding on The Holy Spirit

Note: The Lord Jesus says that The Holy Spirit will testify of Him. Also the disciples will do the same because they knew Him. 

The major error of teaching that has been in the Church for centuries is to take the above Scriptures and imputed that this means the Holy Spirit will not talk about Himself or should receive glory Himself. Yet it is very obvious from the verses that The Lord Jesus was teaching the disciples that The Holy Spirit will be re-affirming to them and all believers that He is the Christ and Messiah just like the disciples who were also witnesses of His resurrection and could therefore bare witness to that fact. This in no way implies The Holy Spirit cannot, should not or will not receive glory Himself as the One Who proceeds from of The Father as The Son does.

It is extremely and fundamentally important to The Father and The Son  that The Holy Spirit can, will and does receive glory Himself in order to establish His authority as part of The God Head.  The establishment of The Holy Spirit's glory, His right to be worshipped as very Spirit of God means that when He affirms that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the risen Saviour, Son of God and the soon returning King of Kings it is irrefutable having come from God Himself not a secondary emissary.

If The Holy Spirit could not be glorified Himself as God and demand worshipful obedience then He would not be quenched and grieved away from the Church or individual believers.  These acts of departing from the Church that has occurred over the last 2000 years is very similar to what God did with the Israelites in the Old Testament when they persisted in sin and rejected His warnings.  God abandoned His people to the perils of their enemies until they realised their evil and repented and returned back to God.

Over the last 2000 years the Church has behaved no better than the Israelites . She has gone after strange gods and substitute religion for the Holy Spirit; She has married into ungodliness and adopted compromises like Ahab in order to protect and profit from these alliances; She has adopted the legalism of the Scribes and Pharisees. Every manner of vileness and perversion that made The Lord God burn with anger in the Old Testament are practiced in the Church today.  These have demonstrated that the Church cannot pontificate over the sins of the Jews, but all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

The consequences for the Church has been the same as it was for the Israelites - Devastating by any measure.  Many churches and entire denominations are hollow shells of the original founders visions. Once powerful places of worship and growth  have become secular restaurants, theatres, bookstores, and residences where all manner of evil is freely practised. Over the centuries many leaders have become infamous as the Glory of God expressed by the Holy Spirit, has departed.  Like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), some leaders have been put to death under The Holy Spirit's judgement or dismissed from their leadership roles in disgrace while their churches have been decimated.

When The Lord Jesus asked to be glorified by the Father, it was to show irrefutably that He proceeded forth from The Father and born by the power of The Holy Spirit.  In John 17:1-5 reads,

"Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, ^athe hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ^2 ^bas You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He ¹should give eternal life to as many ^cas You have given Him. ^3 And ^dthis is eternal life, that they may know You, ^ethe only true God, and Jesus Christ ^fwhom You have sent. ^4 ^gI have glorified You on the earth. ^hI have finished the work ⁱwhich You have given Me to do. ^5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together ²with Yourself, with the glory ^jwhich I had with You before the world was.

It is therefore entirely appropriate for The Holy Spirit to expect to be glorified by The Lord Jesus and The Father Who sent Him as Christ's 100% substitute from the Godhead to believers. And therefore, how much more should every believer worship, adore and revere The Holy Spirit as the disciples worshipped The Lord Jesus when He was on earth.

The Holy Spirit is explicitly glorified by The Lord Jesus when He warned the Jewish leaders of the consequences for blaspheming The Holy Spirit. In Mark 3:28-30 it reads,

"^28 ^w“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; ^29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— ^30 because they ^xsaid, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The Lord Jesus commanded them to wait for His 100% substitute

Acts 1:4-8 reads,

^4 ^eAnd being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have ^fheard from Me; ^5 ^gfor John truly baptized with water, ^hbut you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ^6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ^7 And He said to them, ⁱ“It is not for you to ^jknow times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ^8 ^kBut you shall receive power ^lwhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and ^myou shall be ³witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and ⁿSamaria, and to the ^oend of the earth.”

Dramatic Arrival and Stamp of Authority

In the Book of Acts when The Holy Spirit took over control of the Church from The Lord Jesus on the Day of Pentecost, He wasted no time in putting His Own stamp of authority. There was no dispute as to Who was in control.  The Holy Spirit made a dramatic and powerful entrance to take charge of The Church as substitute for The ascended Lord Jesus Christ.

He arrived like a rushing mighty wind, flames of fire, took charge of the disciples tongues and made them speak with tongues, and made them stagger around like drunken people. It was total dominance!  From timid disciples the previous night to powerful, fearless orators the following morning!  The scripture describes these events as follows in Acts 2:1-15,

"On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection,^* the believers were meeting together in one place. ² Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. ³ Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. ⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,^* as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

⁵ Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time. ⁶ When they heard this sound, they came running to see what it was all about, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

⁷ They were beside themselves with wonder. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, ⁸ and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born! ⁹ Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), ¹¹ Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” ¹² They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. ¹³ But others in the crowd were mocking. “They’re drunk, that’s all!” they said.

¹⁴ Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. ¹⁵ Some of you are saying these people are drunk. It isn’t true! It’s much too early for that. People don’t get drunk by nine o’clock in the morning

The Holy Spirit's signature of being in-charge of the Church

Show of Power and Signs

In Acts 3:1-11, the once fearful Apostle Peter before Pentecost is transformed by The Holy Spirit in a man of faith and the sick start to get healed.

"Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. ² As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

⁴ Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting a gift. ⁶ But Peter said, “I don’t have any money for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”

⁷ Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and anklebones were healed and strengthened. ⁸ He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

⁹ All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. ¹⁰ When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! ¹¹ They all rushed out to Solomon’s Colonnade, where he was holding tightly to Peter and John. Everyone stood there in awe of the wonderful thing that had happened.

1. How the Holy Spirit dealt with Church divisions
 

Act 6:1-7 reads,

"Now in those days, ^awhen the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the ^bHellenists, ¹because their widows were neglected ^cin the daily distribution. ^2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, ^d“It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. ^3 Therefore, brethren, ^eseek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this ^fbusiness; ^4 but we ^gwill give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

^5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, ^ha man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and ⁱPhilip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and ^jNicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, ^6 whom they set before the apostles; and ^kwhen they had prayed, ^lthey laid hands on them.

^7 Then ^mthe word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many ⁿof the priests were obedient to the faith."

In the Corinthian church there was division and the Apostle Paul under the anointing of The Holy Spirit revealed what was behind this division. 1 Cor 3:1-3 reads,

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to ^ababes in Christ. ^2 I fed you with ^bmilk and not with solid food; ^cfor until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; ^3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and ¹behaving like mere men? ^4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?"

Paul then goes on to warn the Corinthian church that there are serious consequences for letting the division in the church destroy the temple of The Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 3:16-17 reads,

"^16 ^rDo you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ^17 If anyone ²defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are."

2. How the Holy Spirit dealt with immorality
 

In 1 Cor 5:1-13 it reads,

"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even ¹named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s ^awife! ^2 ^bAnd you are ²puffed up, and have not rather ^cmourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. ^3 ^dFor I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. ^4 In the ^ename of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, ^fwith the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^5 ^gdeliver such a one to ^hSatan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord ³Jesus.

^6 ⁱYour glorying is not good. Do you not know that ^ja little leaven leavens the whole lump? ^7 Therefore ⁴purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed ^kChrist, our ^lPassover, was sacrificed ⁵for us. ^8 Therefore ^mlet us keep the feast, ⁿnot with old leaven, nor ^owith the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

^9 I wrote to you in my epistle ^pnot to ⁶keep company with sexually immoral people. ^10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go ^qout of the world. ^11 But now I have written to you not to keep company ^rwith anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner— ^snot even to eat with such a person.

^12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? ^13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore ^t“put away from yourselves the evil person.”"

3.How the Holy Spirit dealt with lukewarmness and compromise - Revelation - spew you out of My mouth

In Revelations 2:12-17 it reads,

"“And to the ⁶angel of the church in Pergamos write,

‘These things says ^tHe who has the sharp two-edged sword: ^13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ^14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of ^uBalaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, ^vto eat things sacrificed to idols, ^wand to commit sexual immorality. ^15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, ⁷which thing I hate. ^16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and ^xwill fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

^17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden ^ymanna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone ^za new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’"

In Revelations 3:14-22 it reads,

"^14 “And to the ⁹angel of the church ¹of the Laodiceans write,

^j‘These things says the Amen, ^kthe Faithful and True Witness, ^lthe Beginning of the creation of God: ^15 ^m“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. ^16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither ²cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. ^17 Because you say, ⁿ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— ^18 I counsel you ^oto buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and ^pwhite garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. ^19 ^qAs many as I love, I rebuke and ^rchasten. ³Therefore be ⁴zealous and repent. ^20 Behold, ^sI stand at the door and knock. ^tIf anyone hears My voice and opens the door, ^uI will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ^21 To him who overcomes ^vI will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

^22 ^w“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”"

4. How the Holy Spirit dealt with dishonesty and disrespect

The Holy Spirit  established His Divine authority through His judgement of Ananias and Sapphira. This created an awesome fear and reverential terror in the first church. In Acts 5:1-11 tells the story,

"But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. ^2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ^3 ^aBut Peter said, “Ananias, why has ^bSatan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? ^4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

^5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, ^cfell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. ^6 And the young men arose and ^dwrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.

^7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ^8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”

She said, “Yes, for so much.”

^9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together ^eto test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ^10 ^fThen immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. ^11 ^gSo great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things."

 

5. How the Holy Spirit dealt with confusion on Spiritual gifts
 

In I Cor 12:1-11 it reads,

"Now ^aconcerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: ^2 You know ^bthat ¹you were Gentiles, carried away to these ^cdumb ²idols, however you were led. ^3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus ³accursed, and ^dno one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

^4 ^eThere are ⁴diversities of gifts, but ^fthe same Spirit. ^5 ^gThere are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. ^6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God ^hwho works ⁵all in all. ^7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: ^8 for to one is given ⁱthe word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another ^jthe word of knowledge through the same Spirit, ^9 ^kto another faith by the same Spirit, to another ^lgifts of healings by ⁶the same Spirit, ^10 ^mto another the working of miracles, to another ⁿprophecy, to another ^odiscerning of spirits, to another ^pdifferent kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ^11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, ^qdistributing to each one individually ^ras He wills."

6. How the Holy Spirit dealt with money and fund raising

Acts 2:44-47 reads,

"^44 Now all who believed were together, and ⁿhad all things in common, ^45 and ⁶sold their possessions and goods, and ^odivided ⁷them among all, as anyone had need.

^46 ^pSo continuing daily with one accord ^qin the temple, and ^rbreaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ^47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And ^sthe Lord added ⁸to the church daily those who were being saved.

In Acts 11:27-30 it reads,

"^27 And in these days ^xprophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. ^28 Then one of them, named ^yAgabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of ^zClaudius Caesar. ^29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send ^arelief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. ^30 ^bThis they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul."

 In 1 Cor 16:1-4 it reads,

"Now concerning ^athe collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: ^2 ^bOn the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. ^3 And when I come, ^cwhomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem."

In Rom. 15:26 it reads,

^26 For ^hit pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.

In 2 Cor 8:8-15 it reads,

"^8 ^hI speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. ^9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁱthat though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become ^jrich.

^10 And in this ^kI give advice: ^lIt is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and ^mwere desiring to do a year ago; ^11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. ^12 For ⁿif there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

^13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; ^14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. ^15 As it is written, ^o“He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”"

2 Cor 9:1-15 reads,

"Now concerning ^athe ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; ^2 for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a ^byear ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. ^3 ^cYet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; ^4 lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this ¹confident boasting. ^5 Therefore I thought it necessary to ²exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a ³grudging obligation.

^6 ^dBut this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows ⁴bountifully will also reap ⁴bountifully. ^7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, ^enot grudgingly or of ⁵necessity; for ^fGod loves a cheerful giver. ^8 ^gAnd God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. ^9 As it is written:

     ^h“He has dispersed abroad,

     He has given to the poor;

     His righteousness endures forever.”

^10 Now ⁶may He who ⁱsupplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, ⁷supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your ^jrighteousness, ^11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, ^kwhich causes thanksgiving through us to God. ^12 For the administration of this service not only ^lsupplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, ^13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they ^mglorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal ⁿsharing with them and all men, ^14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding ^ograce of God in you. ^15 Thanks be to God ^pfor His indescribable gift!"

7. How the Holy Spirit dealt with intercession

In Acts 12:5-10 it reads,

"^5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but ²constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. ^6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were ³keeping the prison. ^7 Now behold, ^dan angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. ^8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” ^9 So he went out and followed him, and ^edid not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought ^fhe was seeing a vision. ^10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, ^gwhich opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. "

In Acts 4:23-31 it reads,

"^23 And being let go, ^tthey went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ^24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, ^uYou are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ^25 who ³by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

     ^v‘Why did the nations rage,

     And the people plot vain things?

²⁶     The kings of the earth took their stand,

     And the rulers were gathered together

     Against the Lord and against His Christ.’

^27 “For ^wtruly against ^xYour holy Servant Jesus, ^ywhom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ^28 ^zto do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. ^29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants ^athat with all boldness they may speak Your word, ^30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, ^band that signs and wonders may be done ^cthrough the name of ^dYour holy Servant Jesus.”

^31 And when they had prayed, ^ethe place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, ^fand they spoke the word of God with boldness."

8. How the Holy Spirit dealt with Satanic influence - cast out devils, healed the sick, raised the dead.
 

9. How the Holy Spirit dealt with Spiritual Offices - Eph 4

The Holy Spirit appointed people into Spiritual offices. In Acts 12:1-3 it reads,

"Now ^ain the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: ^bBarnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, ^cLucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ^2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ^d“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work ^eto which I have called them.” ^3 Then, ^fhaving fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away."

In Ephesians 4:7-16 it reads,

"^7 But ⁱto each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ^8 Therefore He says:

     ^j“When He ascended on high,

     He led captivity captive,

     And gave gifts to men.”

^9 ^k(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also ⁴first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ^10 He who descended is also the One ^lwho ascended far above all the heavens, ^mthat He might fill all things.)

^11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ^12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, ⁿfor the ⁵edifying of ^othe body of Christ, ^13 till we all come to the unity of the faith ^pand of the knowledge of the Son of God, to ^qa perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ^14 that we should no longer be ^rchildren, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of ^sdeceitful plotting, ^15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the ^thead—Christ— ^16 ^ufrom whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."

In Rom 13:1-7 it reads,

"Let every soul be ^asubject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ^2 Therefore whoever resists ^bthe authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will ¹bring judgment on themselves. ^3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? ^cDo what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ^4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. ^5 Therefore ^dyou must be subject, not only because of wrath ^ebut also for conscience’ sake. ^6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. ^7 ^fRender therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor."

10. How the Holy Spirit dealt with Church and State relationship
 

In Acts 4:1-22 it reads,

"Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the ^aSadducees came upon them, ^2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ^3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ^4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

^5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, ^6 as well as ^bAnnas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. ^7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, ^c“By what power or by what name have you done this?”

^8 ^dThen Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ^9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ^10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, ^ethat by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, ^fwhom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ^11 This is the ^g‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ^12 ^hNor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

^13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, ⁱand perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ^14 And seeing the man who had been healed ^jstanding with them, they could say nothing against it. ^15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ^16 saying, ^k“What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a ¹notable miracle has been done through them is ^levident ²to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ^17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

^18 ^mSo they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ^19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, ⁿ“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ^20 ^oFor we cannot but speak the things which ^pwe have seen and heard.” ^21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, ^qbecause of the people, since they all ^rglorified God for ^swhat had been done. ^22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed."

11. How the Holy Spirit dealt with Family relationships

In Acts 16:25-34, it reads,

"^25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ^26 ^xSuddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately ^yall the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. ^27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. ^28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

^29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ^30 And he brought them out and said, ^z“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

^31 So they said, ^a“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ^32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ^33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. ^34 Now when he had brought them into his house, ^bhe set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household."

In Acts 18:5-8, it reads,

^"5 ^dWhen Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was ^ecompelled ¹by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. ^6 But ^fwhen they opposed him and blasphemed, ^ghe shook his garments and said to them, ^h“Your blood be upon your own heads; ⁱI am clean. ^jFrom now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ^7 And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named ²Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. ^8 ^kThen Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. "

12. How the Holy Spirit dealt with expanding the Kingdom of God

The Holy Spirit brought about the rapid expansion of the Kingdom of God as recorded in the following Scriptures.

In Acts 2:38-43 it reads,

^"38 Then Peter said to them, ⁱ“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the ²remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ^39 For the promise is to you and ^jto your children, and ^kto all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

^40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this ³perverse generation.” ^41 Then those who ⁴gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ^42 ^lAnd they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ ⁵doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ^43 Then fear came upon every soul, and ^mmany wonders and signs were done through the apostles."

In Acts 4:1-4 it reads,

"Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the ^aSadducees came upon them, ^2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ^3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ^4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand."

The Holy Spirit also appointed into offices people for the ministry. In Acts 13:1-3 it reads,

"Now ^ain the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: ^bBarnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, ^cLucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ^2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ^d“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work ^eto which I have called them.” ^3 Then, ^fhaving fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away."

Why and How did The Holy Spirit lose control and authority over the Church?

The most significant conditions that could stop The Holy Spirit from keeping that authority are documented by His very Own inspireation in the following Scriptures:
 

He was Grieved
Isa 63:10

He was Quenched

He was made redundant

He was not treated as co-equal with The Father and The Son
 

Published 2006

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